Bah, FemShep can be Ellen Ripley crossed with Linda Hamilton IN SPACE!

BTW, I'm going to work on my comments but the reason I'll be a little distracted for the next few days is because I'm working on my net-tabletop (laptabletop?) game, "Iron and Jade" wiki. It's my Exalted/Iron Kingdoms game which has been going on for a bit and I record my data on.

No problem, old fellow; I am considering doing some research into the Winterwier sourcebook in order to better inspire myself for some renewed posting on that subject (also planning to enjoy The Day of the Doctor, if only because it brings not only my two personal favourites X and XII together, but adds Mr John Hurt to the mix to boot!).

Founder of H.E.R.O.I.C, Complimenter-in-Chief, Co-Arch Henchman to the Grin, Servant of the Hoff!

Libra wrote:No problem, old fellow; I am considering doing some research into the Winterwier sourcebook in order to better inspire myself for some renewed posting on that subject (also planning to enjoy The Day of the Doctor, if only because it brings not only my two personal favorites X and XI together, but adds Mr John Hurt to the mix to boot!).

Looking forward to that too, Libra. (Though I wish IX could've made it too, if primarily to add to the always epic comedic bickering that occurs whenever there's multiple Doctors.)

Plus, I do hope you have some more astounding articles to show off very soon.

Libra wrote:In 1948 a collection of terribly-disappointed idealists, divided by whatever beliefs they held closest to their heart and somehow gathered together in the shadow of Lady Liberty by something ... perhaps intuition, perhaps a hunch, perhaps a gut feeling, but nothing they would ever be capable of explaining to anyone who had not been there with them to take heed of that hopeful, desperate summons.

The National Pledge is a superhero team which deserves a medal not only for their idealism in the face of constant ridicule, venom, and hatred exceeding your typical recent national election ALL the time but the fact they managed to defeat the darkness inside their world despite the Herculean efforts of the Average Citizen to remain an uninspired ignorant boob.

The National Pledge faced a humanity which would rather break than bend and grabbed it by the air, shoved its face into the basic humanity of its foes, and proceeded to give it a roundhouse kick.

In the face of the Stone's mind control, they STILL came within inches of triumph.

Columbia: Calling herself 'Rebecca Chang' when she needed to be reminded that she was as much superhuman as 'demigoddess', Columbia was at the same time a very young, vulnerable lady passing through the difficult transition into adulthood and a budding 'demigoddess' without any time for the comforting security of a childhood if she wished to make E-632 the first of many worlds to benefit from her blessings.

Never quite finding the family she so keenly desired in The National Pledge, they were still her dearest friends and most devoted followers, not faultless but desperate to safeguard the spark of hope in something better to come with which she lit up her immediate surroundings, so that the promise of a torch that might illuminate the dark bitterness of their world might be fulfilled - not to mention willing and able to do great, as well as terrible things in pursuit of that goal (as well as many more short-term, some more personal, some less noble).

The destruction of Sovius and the deaths of billions has resulted in the liberation of countless worlds but the action is so far beyond the Moral Event Horizon she's someone who would instantly wipe herself out should she remember. Dominatia, the spirit inside her head, is dormant due to the fact that she never expected Columbia to actually have a tiger underneath her persistent idealism and Pollyanna offers of friendship/redemption.

Instead, the mental wiping of the majority of her memories has been a liberating and confusing experience. As far as Rebecca knows, she's simply an idealistic and pleasant teenager who is fresh from escaping Red Jade and her minions. The Black Arbitrators are keeping her under a form of house arrest with SOMEWHAT more freedom than before. She's mostly using her powers to heal the sick, restore the environments of devastated worlds, end famine, and other miracles which are rapidly winning the Arbitrators more popularity than they really deserve.

Likewise, their Chaplain, Moses Alexander Samson is presently spreading around news the Emperor has reincarnated himself into her. Small pockets of Earth-000 survivors are slow to hear this news across the CCG boards and so on but they hope to draw enough they can start transforming the Sovius survivors into Neo-Imperialists.

Ironically, the Sovius themselves aren't really hateful of Elizabeth. The majority have had it burned into their minds a general sense of loathing and righteous retribution accompanying the Burning. As a result, hundreds of millions have converted to the State Cult the Black Arbitrators have created with billions more skeptical but unwilling to challege the demigodddess. Obviously, keeping her role in the Sovius genocide from Columbia is a top priority for the Black Arbitrators. The big problem being, of course, they are required to leave her repeatedly in order to do the messy business of conquering and smacking around Sovius warlords.

Disturbingly, the Black Arbitrators are quite good at persuading the worlds the Sovius CONQUERED which have been LIBERATED to join in their new organization.

The Detective (Richard R. Trahan): An ageing veteran of the military and law enforcement who had acquired a great deal of experience, though little else other than bad memories across the course of his long career through the ranks of those his country named Enemy - ranks that grew ever deeper and more afflicted, even as they grew less offensive on the whole, even to those required to enforce the fullest penalties of an ever less humane Law upon them.

In the end The Detective joined those ranks when his masters tried to placate the more enquiring minds amongst their subordinates by feeding them the vindication of their own vindictiveness in the guise of redemption and salvation; his hitherto-silent conscience finally reached a sticking point and his career within the Law reached an end as a result - escaping the immediate consequences The Detective's purposeless wanderings were brought to an end almost as soon as they began when Columbia entered his life.

He didn't buy into half of what she was selling, but The Detective still saw something in that little lady that he simply couldn't leave behind or do without; he would go on to be amongst her most devoted, rugged and ruthless followers, right up until the very end of Columbia.

Richard is, like all of the existing National Pledge members, alive now since Elizabeth restored them all to life as part of her epic freak-out. Richard is especially troubled by this because he tended to be the only member of the National Pledge to be alive in the various time-travel changes the Singularity created. As a result, Richard Trahan remembers not only his original life but every single one of his iterations. He's not so much Booker Dewitt now as Booker Dewitt by way of Duncan Idaho. Armed with a 1000 individual lifetimes, only his very powerful curmudgeony nature and innate practicality keep him going.

Also his deep and abiding desire to find Columbia and give her a good spanking for this mess.

The Randian (Terry Pointdexter): A very young man even younger than he looked, yet already old in experience, The Randian had experienced no other education higher than his creator's interpretation of the ardently-embraced philosophy of Ayn Rand and hard experience amidst the ruins of the Utopia in which that creator, along with far too many others, had been reduced to worse than ruin in their quest to curb the wickedness of man and the desperate struggle to survive that followed their failure.

Terry's origins are, noteworthy, somewhat complicated as his CCG-member Randian father created him as the basis for the first Sovius (research carried over by Ravana). The Singularity was never able to eliminate the decidedly anti-communist trened of Master Race sensibility from the world because Ravana was always trying to recreate his ability to clone himself.

Eustace Pointdexter, a tough bastard if there ever was one due to the "Boy Named Sue" qualities of his name, came closest by taking his DNA and altering it to achieve Overman-esque qualities of both intellect as well as physical supremacy. Ultimately, Terry ended up destroying his father's underwater CCG-provided wonderland of science and free-market capitalism.

Terry's ability to read books in half a minute as well as memorize their contents made him well-matched against Columbia even if he was prone to moralizing. It has been suggested that Terry and Columbia were in love at some point with their shared management of an child-filled home pointed to as one. At the end, though, Columbia wanted to save all of the children in the world while Terry was willing to settle for a few dozen.

Terry is, naturally, a man of Steve Rogers-esque patience and decency. However, his present desire is to take a wrench and beat to death the Singularity for not destroying his family but erasing it from existence.

(He needn't worry, ironically, since his children went on to become CCG free-marketeers with decidedly more moral and supernatural-friendly values)

Equality (Eric MacDonald) andFraternity (Bill Francis): A strange, stubborn pair that sought to stand for the rights and dignities of EVERYONE in a world where most people were increasingly lucky to keep their health, never mind anything less tangible and more immaterial because quite frankly they could see that what freedoms they had were precious even BEFORE they were a thing of the past - they suffered for that belief, but did a pretty good job of making sure no-one else did, which makes it less than surprising that they were drawn to Columbia (or that she she was drawn to them, possibly even before she met them).

Perpetually dedicated to their ephemeral namesake ideals to the point where they rejected The American Eagle for the humble honeybee on the understanding that dandified vulture had been just a TOUCH imperial before the currency of that all-american icon as a symbol of high-flying freedom was ground into the dirt through the frequent misuse to which it was put in the interests of the Pendleton Despotism, Equality and Fraternity were burdened in the course of their quest by a secret that would undercut their message if it were ever made public.

It's hard to convince others of the fundamental equality of man when only ONE of you has superpowers.

Not their only secret by far.

Eric and Bill Francis were individuals who had a particular reason to be sour on the prevailing environment of the time. A pair of military veteran homosexuals who were forced to pretend to be, of all things, brothers in to be together--they were anarchists in the classical sense. Eric served as the group's muscle, however, having gained superpowers from brief exposure to the Nexus-experiments in Eustace Pointdexter's laboratories.

Equality was capable of generating flames, ice, electricity, and swarms of killer bees as long as he took the variety of potions created by Bill. Most assumed this was simply lost-technology anyone could use but was actually a stabilizing agent created by Bill. Equality could use all of his powers naturally but would explode without his constant medical care.

Fraternity, by contrast, was the one most into being a "superhero" and utilized the super-science he'd learned in said underwater city (which they'd originally come to on promises of freedom from society's nonsensical morals--ones they'd badly misinterpreted to mean the nonsensical ones versus "in general"). His costumed form always utilized non-lethal gadgetry and devices, however, as he considered it against his philosophy to kill another human being.

Most of his fellows did not share his view except, ironically, Columbia who attempts to take people alive whenever possible.

Both are presently on Earth-0, utterly bewildered by events.

The Singularity (Platon): A soviet cosmonaut who acquired superhuman powers, then proceeded to use and wilfully misuse them in the interests of progressing towards his end goal, The Singularity was forever reluctant to share anything with his colleagues beyond their adventures and the precise nature of this end goal (not to mention his real name and even his face, concealed behind the visor of that space-suit from which he could never be separated), all that is know is his method of pursuing that goal - build a power on Earth even more potent than President Pendleton in complete opposition to that b------- ambitions.

To that end he joined The National Pledge, although it's unclear as to whether this was his first choice or simply the last phase of a gambit intended to to stave off Pendleton's triumph long enough to build something that could survive even this calamity; owing to his time-travel peregrinations it's even hard to tell whether or not he picked up The Stone after the last defeat of The National Pledge or before he ever met Columbia, never mind just what he did or just what order he did all that he felt he had to.

In the end he failed to build a better world, but at least built a world he could live with - a world which killed him swiftly and without a second thought upon realising he existed.

The Singularity's resurrection has left him in a rather miserable state as he's now aware he not only failed to make a communist utopia with his powers but actually released SPACE NAZISM on the galaxy as a whole (its land-based institution which, thankfully, almost always failing in the infinite histories of the Nexus). Worse, he's also aware he indirectly drove his best friend and kid sister figure to ignite the atmopshere of his home-planet.

Oh and he can't kill himself since he just reboots.

As a result, he's presently not left the CCG bar he's holled up in for six months.

The Repairman (Arthur Asimov or Lancelot 'Larry' Asimov): Given the family resemblance, it's hard to tell whether or not The Repairman who did his best to fix the problems of E-632 and failed in the end was the man we know best by that name or his missing-presumed-adventuring younger brother, but whatever the case the Repairman did a much less loopy job than usual while working with the National Pledge, as well as doing a lot of good just by doing his honest blue-collar best to keep Columbia grounded and the gang in better style than they had previously been accustomed to.

If he was ever Arthur, the fate of this Repairman following the destruction of his first team is well-known, albeit scarcely credible - if he was only ever Lancelot Asimov, then that fate remains unknown but likely lamentable given the tragedy of The National Pledge.

Given they were identical twins who were mainly distinguished by the color of their oufits (the Repairman preferring red and Larry preferring green), it was always hard to say which brother was doing what. However, whereas the Repairman was too busy using the Tool to plumb the depths of the "Cosmic Pipe Network" (what he named the suspiciously Boom-Tube like portals they could generate), Larry was more interested in actually making a difference in the world. As a result, 80% of the adventures of the Repairman on this world's overwritten past were conducted by Larry Asimov with the remaining 20% done when the former was visiting his family back on Earth-0 or working to increase his knowledge of cross-dimensional physics.

(Yes, they're Mario and Luigi as interdimensional-hopping physicists)

Larry Asimov's motivation was possibly due to a Quixotic love for Columbia that, sadly, was never noticed let alone reciprocated. It was on one of his missions to impress her, however, that he found and adopted his daughter Evey to which romance would always come a distant second (if it even registered on the map). Larry's love for Evey resulted in him sending her through an unstable time portal when the universe was being overwritten. Sheltering his daughter with his frame, he was only saved by the "grace" of Purity-scientists. Evey, herself, only avoided being a test-subject due to her unsual ability with math.

Larry's present form is a sad state, looking like a diving suit crossed with a doomsday machine and serving as his life-support system. Its interior is always lit as he no longer needs to sleep and he's become a poet, adapting surprisingly well to his condition. Having escaped from the Purity with his daughter, he's now wandering the Multiverse seeking his brother.

After all, he can fix anything.

Liberty's Shadow (?): A hard-pressed team abandoned to their fate by a world that doomed itself to die unmourned in consequence, The National Pledge could still number their fair share of successes before being reduced to a state of chronic uncertainty and 'might have been' by the efforts of their old team-mate - arguably the greatest of their successes was earning the recognition across the Nexus that would result in one of their own becoming a member of the Everywhen's Mightiest Heroes The Aetheric Pantheon, a mystery-man wielding strange technology to good effect in the cause of Justice immortalised as The Living Shadow with a mighty myriad of benevolent consequences opened up as a result.

But then The Singularity severed all connection between this real, breathing man and his immortal shadow when that miserable commie excuse for a Doc Morrow kicked out the foundations of space and time in that part of the cosmos most crucial to keeping one of Realities most crucial wardens connected to reality - the consequences of that action have been even worse for the cosmos than those that would cause The Singularity himself to suffer and then spread that suffering across nearby branches of the World Tree.

In the end even that legacy of oppression known as The Sovius may yet pale next to the suffering spread by this inhuman shadow - especially if it were to reconnect with the deeply troubled young entity once known as Columbia and now caught in the crux of a crucial decision concerning who she should now become ....

Libra wrote:No wonder bloodlines are such an important part of Charles' settings; in his corner of Creation EVERYONE seems to be getting it on with either someone or several someones or several DOZEN someones (one can only be thankful that it's not all at once!).

Oh and to clarify.

Gladius (that was her name) was in love with King Arthur but celibate in her devotion. She was, however, forced to get married by Guinevere due to the use of a magic potion which is a hell of a lot more squicky with the genders reversed. It was a union, however, which did birth Galahad and resulted in the recovery of the Chalice. It was also sexless after the birth, which ironically, mirrored Arthur's own mystical abuse by Morrigan and their fathers of Igraine.

Ultimately, Gladius slaughter and murder of numerous Knights of the Round Table to rescue Guinevere from the pyre (whose adultery was with YET ANOTHER knight--making the French Edition of the story QUITE inaccurate) was motivated by the fact Arthur had ordered her to protect Guinevere AT ALL COSTS.* She also had to protect him from decisions against himself he would later regret forever. Such as, you know, burning his wife at the stake.

Gladius, unfortunately, committed suicide when this whole event resulted in her missing the chance to protect Arthur from Mordred's blade. A child who Gladius had loved and trained like her own simply because he was Arthur's son.

The term Love Martyr doesn't BEGIN to describe her, really.

* Despite deep, passionate, abiding HATRED of the woman for much of their relationship. A fact Guinevere remained blissfully unaware of her entire life.

It should be also noted this is but ONE iteration of Camelot in the Nexus.

A particularly peculiar one to boot or so I would suspect! (although not necessarily the one that played out on Earth-Cabal, one has to wonder ... ).

By the way Charles, thank you kindly as ever for your compliments!

In the face of the Stone's mind control, they STILL came within inches of triumph.

It is admittedly true that the residents of E-Dominion were more than a little desperate to keep their stuck heads into the nice, cosy sand where they wouldn't be targeted by snipers - but it's still a touch unfair to blame them for taking the perfectly sensible attitude that since THEY didn't have superpowers and weren't particularly pally with a 'demigoddess' willing to share hers it was probably wiser for them to keep out of the way of these EPIC clashes and get on with living their daily lives as best they could.

Unfortunately I suspect that this attitude is the hook that Primarch-President EVIL used to compel a chillingly large number of his subjects to attack the nearest superhuman, with the inevitable consequences for all parties.

Likewise, their Chaplain, Moses Alexander Samson is presently spreading around news the Emperor has reincarnated himself into her.

One suspects that Chapter Master Eli-shah salah-hu-din Bludwulf would REALLY like a word with Chaplain-Superior Moses Samson Alexandros, but admits that his one-time battle-brother (different chapters, shared experiences) was never likely to listen to any reasoning which didn't toe the particular line he preferred even when they were at the 'worthy ally' rather than the 'worthy opponent' phase of their professional relationship.

Disturbingly, the Black Arbitrators are quite good at persuading the worlds the Sovius CONQUERED which have been LIBERATED to join in their new organization.

It helps that, unlike the Sovius, they were built to PROTECT Humankind rather than supplant it (although they tend to be BIG BROTHER as often as they are Big Brothers to their mortal fellows).

Mind you, one has to wonder how The Doomed of Dyson's Sphere have reacted to this particular series of events; I suspect that Captain Steve is as worried as he is impressed and that the loyalties of those Arbitrators serving with his company are being urgently courted by The Arbitrator and the Black Arbitrators.

Also his deep and abiding desire to find Columbia and give her a good spanking for this mess.

Given the peculiarly multifaceted relationship between the two, he might enjoy this part of the process of Columbia's redemption a good deal more than ANY father-figure ever EVER should.

Assuming that the Black Arbitrator's resident He-witches don't sense this impulse and reduce his various organic components, some of them still twitching, to a decidedly disordered state.

Eustace Pointdexter, a tough bastard if there ever was one due to the "Boy Named Sue" qualities of his name, came closest by taking his DNA and altering it to achieve Overman-esque qualities of both intellect as well as physical supremacy.

Admittedly his hideously-abusive pseudo-puberty of a childhood didn't exactly stunt his growth into a ferocious hard case, even if it did rather leave his social skills and knowledge of the outside world not merely tad rudimentary but negatively-slanted.

Pappy Pointdexter and his rivals having already made a spirited, shockingly horrible start to the process.

It has been suggested that Terry and Columbia were in love at some point with their shared management of an child-filled home pointed to as one.

From what I can gather EVERYONE who met her loved Columbia; only the precise kind of love manifested varied from person to person (the question of whether the love LASTED remains open).

However, his present desire is to take a wrench and beat to death the Singularity for not destroying his family but erasing it from existence.

The Singularity: "It has been tried; try again and make sure it will stick please"

<Holds up finger; takes a short but sharp drink>

Singularity: "Do you best - ahem, pardon, English is never my first language."

(He needn't worry, ironically, since his children went on to become CCG free-marketeers with decidedly more moral and supernatural-friendly values)

Doubtless a few of grandkids have popped up here and there across the Nexus as Objectivist Avengers (although curiously enough not on E-86, although it may well have been a Pointdexter who first blacklisted that world - after The Octagon mocked his surname or so it is - and who finally removed the black spot after being persuaded of The Silver Century's sincerity).

Both are presently on Earth-0, utterly bewildered by events.

Thanks to the near-simultaneous efforts of The Singularity to bend time into a shape that pleased him and President-EVIL Pendleton (in various disguises and with a LOT of help) to cover up or just blot out anything resembling a coherent truth regarding the reality-warping shenanigans going on in that part of The Cosmos, so is EVERYBODY who has to work out what the heck just happened (as opposed to those trying to work out how to employ developments to their advantage).

As a result, he's presently not left the CCG bar he's holled up in for six months.

It's arguably the least of what he deserves, but the poor devil has been through Hell and deserves some pity (even if he DID build it and help ensure there were demons to staff it although the precise degree of deliberate intent behind all this is something of a open question as yet unanswered).

(Yes, they're Mario and Luigi as interdimensional-hopping physicists)

For better and for the worst, one might have to put that description into the past tense; Arthur is currently more of a superhero eccentric (even by the eccentric standards of superheroes) and poor old Lancelot is ... well he's been canned, if he'll forgive the pun.

After all, he can fix anything.

"Except anything fit for human consumption at breakfast, lunch or dinner; how big-brother hasn't starved since I've been away remains a mystery"

"The Daedalus has an excellent refractory and an even better master of the kitchens, young juggernaut"

" .... he always talk like that?"

"He always talks like that baby brother"

"Can we swap teams?"

Nothing to say but bravo for that bit of poetry.

Thank you kindly; I wonder if The Human Shadow remains in flux or if the original is now preparing to fight for the chance to resume his seat at the Big Table ...

Founder of H.E.R.O.I.C, Complimenter-in-Chief, Co-Arch Henchman to the Grin, Servant of the Hoff!

Libra wrote:One suspects that Chapter Master Eli-shah salah-hu-din Bludwulf would REALLY like a word with Chaplain-Superior Moses Samson Alexandros, but admits that his one-time battle-brother (different chapters, shared experiences) was never likely to listen to any reasoning which didn't toe the particular line he preferred even when they were at the 'worthy ally' rather than the 'worthy opponent' phase of their professional relationship.

The issue is compounded by Elijah Bludwulf actually believing the Emperor ascended to Godhood. Chaplain Moses Alexandros, however, believed this to be a rather appalling superstition since the Emperor was originally a man of science with Equalist values at best.*

It's just Moses is quite willing to use it as an opiate (or spice melange) of the Masses.

Which offends Elijah even more than if he was promoting an atheist Imperial cult.

* The Emperor did become a semi-divine being, which took a long time for him to adjust to.

Libra wrote:It helps that, unlike the Sovius, they were built to PROTECT Humankind rather than supplant it (although they tend to be BIG BROTHER as often as they are Big Brothers to their mortal fellows).

Mind you, one has to wonder how The Doomed of Dyson's Sphere have reacted to this particular series of events; I suspect that Captain Steve is as worried as he is impressed and that the loyalties of those Arbitrators serving with his company are being urgently courted by The Arbitrator and the Black Arbitrators.

In general, the Doomed and their ilk react to the Arbitrator and Black Arbitrators as two unacceptable sides of the same coin. While nostalgia calls to some of them for the Black Arbitrators intentions of creating a mini-Empire, a good deal of them consider it akin to modern day Southerners taking over a nation to create a new Confederacy.

By contrast, the "White" Arbitrator is considered somewhat ludicrous in his superheroism and defense of ill-mannered savages. *

Sadly, the temptation to go to a land where you're welcomed and treated as gods may overwhelm good sense more than the allure of protecting All-Humans Everywhere.

* The Arbitrator's distaste for them is born primarily from the general vapidity of most peoples versus the steel eyed professionals of their universe.

Libra wrote:It helps that, unlike the Sovius, they were built to PROTECT Humankind rather than supplant it (although they tend to be BIG BROTHER as often as they are Big Brothers to their mortal fellows).

Mind you, one has to wonder how The Doomed of Dyson's Sphere have reacted to this particular series of events; I suspect that Captain Steve is as worried as he is impressed and that the loyalties of those Arbitrators serving with his company are being urgently courted by The Arbitrator and the Black Arbitrators.

The current instability of the Nexus has resulted in numerous realities coming to the conclusion that dictatorship may, indeed, be a more stable government system (not to mention safer) in the face of a Thousand DoomsTM. While they paid lip service to Sovius trials and are very clear against atrocities for their own sake, the Black Arbitrator's tyranny is no less absolute. They just have the experience and knowledge to keep the hand around the galaxy's throat JUST tight enough to have the message be clear without throttling them.

They're also capable of the Bread and Circus part of the two which the Sovius never mastered (at least for anyone else). Admittedly, though, part of their success is purely unintentional. Much like the Romans, they're very good at promoting local governors while keeping forces divided enough to not be able to resist. They have no interest in ruling, being (anti)paladins of space.

The mass conversions and Emperor worship will come later.

Given the peculiarly multifaceted relationship between the two, he might enjoy this part of the process of Columbia's redemption a good deal more than ANY father-figure ever EVER should.

Assuming that the Black Arbitrator's resident He-witches don't sense this impulse and reduce his various organic components, some of them still twitching, to a decidedly disordered state.

Libra wrote:It's arguably the least of what he deserves, but the poor devil has been through Hell and deserves some pity (even if he DID build it and help ensure there were demons to staff it although the precise degree of deliberate intent behind all this is something of a open question as yet unanswered).

The Singularity's motivations were neither pure nor entirely without merit. The Singularity was less a fanatic than singularly blind to the failings of the Leninist system and its tireless science-fiction optimism. Rather than accept the idea that people might actually find greater satisfaction in non-communist states, he continually placed all of his bets in a Revolutionary world of equality he believed in with all of his heart and soul.

This committed devotion to Marxian ideals blinded him to the faults that even his fellow Socialists (George Orwell in particular) were infamously aware of. Particularly, as the Repairman (prone to an almost Silent Bob-esque meets Randal capacity to randomly point out deep and effecting insights into the human condition in-between less useful commentary) pointed out.

"Technically, the Revolution must come from the bottom up instead of the Top Down. A Revolution forced on the citizenry is the very opposite of what Marx intended. See, it's like if Gandalf used the ring to free all the people of Middle Earth and create paradise. It's valueless because it's not a act of humanity. Hand me a wrench."

The Jester of Jolly Justice, the Dark Trickster, and the Clown Prince of Cruelty is a figure who almost never leaves the Los Angeles area but has been known to turn up in the most absurd places like the surface of Mars or Wild West.

The history of Madcap changes with every telling but attempts to investigate him indicate that he, very well, might be an escapee from Doctor Laramis' asylum for the criminally insane. Even then, the records were hunted down and destroyed by Madcap just to increase the general sense of mystery about the vampire.

The most likely story is he was a comedy writer turned urban terrorist, though said terrorism consisted largely of pranks, whose mild case of bipolar personality disorder and compulsive lying was made worse by misdiagnosis and experimental drug treatments. Already, his story was reading like a Batman comic when a vampire who may or may not have been Earth-Cabal's version of Alice Liddell transformed him.

Madcap's transformation was accompanied by the dissolution of whatever sanity he had as well as the birth of an entirely new persona. Madcap decided he would return to his urban terrorist activities but spread not just the rich and powerful but all those suffering from hubris. Bizarrely, his transformation also bestowed him extensive mind-reading and mesmerism powers above what most vampires possess.

Madcap is capable of mind-control, ESP, altering memories, and creating illusions for small groups of people. Madcap's mind-control abilities are usually used merely to scale individuals but his actions upon the hopelessly evil can be completely devastating.

These may include stealing the ability of an abusive man the ability to be sexually aroused by anything but angry honey badgers or convincing them they have the power to fly only if they believe--with predictable results.

His most powerful ability is also his most subtle one and not one covered by the rules. Madcap is capable of making himself unnoticed--which is, when you think about it, a great deal more terrifying than invisibility. This ability can even effect those viewing him through electronic means but ceases to work after he stops (so he has been known to show up in photos at Presidential banquets and other locals).

His control over the last is rather spotty, though, and can be disrupted with Super-Senses or contested checks when actively looking for him.

Madcap is, technically, classified a criminal in Los Angeles but has a larger fanbase than anyone but Momentum or Super Dragon Punch Zero. Part of this is because, in addition to his horrific pranks, he is prone to random acts of humanity. These may include removing memories of abuse, trauma, and forcing the corrupt to pay for their crimes in a quite literal manner. Madcap does not actively "fight crime" on the street but tends to focus on the rich and powerful. The exception is when it involves vampires or the supernatural.

Madcap serves an unofficial "Sheriff" for the vampires of L.A. who number in the low hundreds. Whereas Charles Chevalier sends out his monster for crimes against him, he is largely uninterested in anything resembling true justice. Madcap, by contrast, investigates crimes against and by mundanes. He has also educated many of the "Foundlings" who are vampires transformed and simply abandoned--a frequent tactic of the Family and Bloody Damned.

The Foundlings are, slowly, coming to decide they are powerful enough to take revenge on their tormentors but their mentor is dubious this would end well. Strangely, he talks completely normal during these times.

Madcap is the chief protector of Los Angeles against all manner of supernatural threats from Daemonites to Hungry Dead. He is a friend of Ghost Hunter Yoko, The Wands, and Dark Sun amongst several other people. The Order, however, considers him to be a repulsive little meddler and have tried to bring him to justice several time. His primary foes are the Shang-Di Corporation and Charles Chevalier, who nicely are both supernatural AS WELL as suffering hubris.

Madcap's base is The Laugh House a nightclub which is home to all manner of psychedelic drug use, music, and an upstairs comedy show. Weirdly, no one has thought to connect the two.

By 'some' we really do mean ALL of them (the frightening thing about these little outbursts at meetings is that you can never quite tell when they're straightforward filibustering-delaying tactics or if the speaker is Absolutely SERIOUS).

Founder of H.E.R.O.I.C, Complimenter-in-Chief, Co-Arch Henchman to the Grin, Servant of the Hoff!